origin_etherealfandomcom-20200214-history
Zair
Under Construction In the heart of the Blackridge Mountains exists the ancient, hearty descendants of the elves. Despite their ancestral origins, their thirst for empire was remarkably little - in fact, the dwarves were far more content burying themselves into their legendary art of metalworking than arming themselves for battle, though this would vary slightly century to century. Zair reigned supreme for just 4.6 centuries, yet during this time the great leaps in mathematics and engineering allowed the dwarves to forge the most advanced nation in the history of Tethys - its technological advancement (which was largely destroyed) has not yet been replicated by any people since... including the dwarves themselves. This time period and their reign is somewhat of a mystery due to the plague and subsequent goblin raids, which became evermore far-reaching after the plague had run its course. Many of their discoveries are hinted at by the great monuments and other creations they left behind such as the grand Star Forge which was the center of all production in Tethys while still in operating condition. It is thought that had it not been for the plague and the goblin raids that followed, Zair would still exist today as the most prominent and most advanced nation in the entire world. History, Decline and Fall See History of Zair Zair was born out of the struggles of the newly-forged elven-dwarven alliance which expelled the Orcs from the western half of Adamas. Servants of Kallisto was created and became a powerful religious organization throughout Blackridge, having been established to protect Blackridge from its enemies and drive forward the world through dwarven innovation. Following the First and Second Battles of Blackridge where the Orcs were successfully defeated by the combined forces of the dwarves and the elves (as well as the aid of superior strategic positioning in Blackridge), the Servants of Kallisto began rallying all of the dwarven cities, villages and towns under them. Never again did they want to be caught defenseless against a foreign invader, so they decided it was time to forge a unified nation and gave it the name Zair. However, the Servants of Kallisto realized they were not necessarily the ones to accomplish the second goal of their religious order: to drive forward through innovation. From here they established a two-layer government - the lower layer, which advised the leaders and chose new ones as necessary, was made up of the Servants of Kallisto. The other was a Tetrarchy made up of the four most prominent dwarven blacksmiths and engineers. Here, status did not matter but rather demonstrated skill as the dwarves themselves did not care much for class structure, realizing that even the lowliest dwarf could rise up to be the greatest of their innovators. The First Tetrarchy reigned for around 30 years with many of its early years centered around forming a capable administrative organization, which involved establishing a formal census in order to collect taxes to fund government projects to improve the growing nation. Once these things were in place, they began to shift their focus toward the mines: they needed to employ thousands of dwarves to collect the ores necessary to jumpstart their trade economy and equip their future military. Since the elves to their west were, like them, in no position to be able to afford luxury gold and silver items, the dwarven government made an astonishing decision: they would establish a form of currency backed by dwarven silver and gold in order to pay its workers and allow its citizens to sell and trade using it instead of the old forms of crude barter. This provided a purpose for all of the excess gold and silver that would be mined from the mountains and allowed the government a direct hand in regulating the economy. These gold and silver coins represented a certain amount of gold and silver ore and could each be split into 20 triangular shapes for further division. Throughout the Second and Third Tetrarchies, the dwarves reopened trade with the elves with special treaties that would allow dwarven merchants to buy and sell using their own dwarven currency. Here, the idea was that each coin represented so much dwarven gold and silver ore within Blackridge that could be exchanged as necessary (though this rarely happened), establishing a form of regional currency. During the Third Tetrarchy especially, the dwarves began opening new trade routes with the gnomes and humans in order to sell their bronze, iron, silver and gold products (as well as coal, which the dwarves had introduced to the world for the first time). Trade networks with some goblin tribes were even opened because, for whatever reason, the goblins had become obsessed with obtaining gold and silver coins. During the Fourth Tetrarchy, a huge number of public projects were created and sponsored by the dwarven government. This also included buying some land from the elves and humans. Among these projects would be arise the creation of steel, efforts into designing powerful naval vessels and further improving the equipment of the dwarven military. The dwarves also expanded their trade routes to include the Xulon to the south, the Arkhaios and Pteron to the east. Dwarven craftsmanship was becoming something of a widespread phenomenon and symbol of cultural status among the other races, leading to an ever-increasing demand for the unique products produced only in Blackridge. Even governments wanted their iron and steel for their militaries, although steel equipment was largely capped by the dwarves so that their military could maintain an edge. As the Fifth Tetrarchy took shape, a new problem was arising. With their extensive trade networks (which even included underground trading with the Orcs by this time), the dwarven currency had become not only the first currency but also the first to be used everywhere and demanded by everyone as payment. On top of this, dwarven jewelry making and iron/steelwork were wanted in an ever-increasing fashion. The dwarves, in essence, could no longer keep up with all of the demands being placed on their economy - so the Tetrarchy sponsored a nationwide effort to discover a new method to meet demand. For this, the dwarven engineers began looking into coal which had now heated their homes and helped cook their food for centuries. Its availability in Blackridge and ease to burn made it a prime suspect. Through a massive amount of trial and error which cost the government many thousands of coin, the first dwarven steam engine was created. Once it was demonstrated to the members of the Tetrarchy, they demanded that it be used to power a new production process. Rallying thousands of dwarven miners, they embarked on the process of constructing what was known as the Star Forge. It would take a little over 7 years to construct this behemoth, but in the end it both automated production and increase production capacity by a huge margin, allowing the dwarves to meet the rising demands. The Sixth and Seventh Tetrarchies, which were the last of the prosperous reigns, the dwarves embarked on an expedition to further automate their processes. This extended into ore refining, mining and even attempts to improve transportation. They established new agreements with their many trade allies, allowing them to move into their territory and build far-reaching roads that lead to the heart of Zair itself in order to further improve trade. Turning their attention to the unexplored seas for discovery and opening massive sea trade routes, the dwarves set out to design an armada that could carry out the requests of the government for a variety of things. To do this the dwarves turned to the Elder Trees of Eluvia and began to buy up a huge amount of wood from the elves. Over the next 5 years the dwarves would build a fleet of some 80 ships, some military and some trade, and began funding expeditions to establish new trade routes and discover new lands if possible. This lead to the discovery of Petra, a continent which the dwarves would establish some colonies on once they discovered the ore-rich nature of its rocky, mountainous terrain. In 3526 AD, a massive epidemic which originated in Blackridge swept through the dwarven populations and spread to most peoples around Adamas. It is thought that perhaps it was caused by the unsanitary conditions of the dwarven cities, which had become severely overpopulated by the height of their empire. Strangely, the disease primarily affected the descendants of the elves, suggesting that they had a large lack of immunity to whatever the disease was. Orc descendants were either minorly affected or not at all. This marked the end of Zair as it was, for the widespread epidemic wiped out some 70% to 80% of their populations which lived in close proximity to one another. Elves, gnomes, humans, Pteron, Arkhaois and Xulon also saw a massive hit in their populations, drastically altering the world economy which had prospered for many centuries with the dwarves as the central powerhouse. Between 3524 AD and 3514, the year of the fall of Zair, the goblin hordes began raiding the increasingly defenseless dwarven empire. They viciously looted their cities and towns alike, destroying anything that was not of immediate value to them. After sacking the Star Forge and taking all materials used for production, they destroyed huge amounts of it, leaving it entirely unoperational - the symbol of the dwarven powerhouse was now largely destroyed and would remain as such for thousands of years to come. Reach Dwarves are known for being peaceful and very reserved as a race, and the same went for their empire. It was not in any sense a war-hungry nation, but rather one of innovation and trade. The vast majority of their land gains were made through pushing into Orc territory. The rest, however, was gained through peaceful purchases as their empire grew in power and wealth, so too did the reach of their currency. This gave the dwarven government unprecedented control over the world's wealth and trade and allowed them to make land purchases with it. 3635 - 3630 AD During the reign of the Fourth Tetrarchy, the dwarves began to make land purchases to the west and south of Blackridge. These lands were bought from both the humans and the elves, who had at this time established control over a few of the territories they had once held when Eluvia was at its peak. Lands purchased from the humans were to the south of blackridge, the lands connected to the sea. Those purchased from the elves were the two riverbank regions alongside the river Ametros. 3630 - 3629 AD Also during the Fourth Tetrarchy, dwarven armies massed alongside the edge of Blackridge. Uncomfortable with the Orcs who still resided in the regions directly to the east of their borders, the dwarves decided to push them out and use the region as a sort of buffer zone between them and the orcs, goblins and even some trolls, though trolls did not often attack unless commanded to or threatened. 3577 - 3573 AD As part of the dwarven sea expeditions funded by the Seventh Tetrarchy, the continent of Petra was discovered in 3577 AD. Proceeding to send military forces to clear the enemy of any dangers (and having found none of significance), Zair began colonizing the area that they landed and used the mountains to the north of it as their border. What resulted was a series of prominent mining and fishing colonies, helping to generate further wealth for the empire. By 3573, Zair had reached its maximum extent before its tragic end in 3514. Government/Religion Military Innovations in Mathematics and Technology Economy and the Rise of Industry See Star Forge Language and Culture Legacy Sources (1) http://www.deviantart.com/art/Coin-Concepts-210777307